Entrepreneur and Author Peter A. Thiel spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the Independent Institute on January 27, 2015. He shared insights from his new book Zero to One on how to create true innovations in the world of atomsnot just digits and bitsand how to foster a peaceful, prosperous and freer future marked by globalization in a world of limited resources.

For millennia, farmers all over the world have bred crops for their resistance to disease, productivity, and nutritional value. Over the past century, scientists have used increasingly more sophisticated methods for modifying crops at the genetic level. But only since the 1970s have advances in gene-splicing and other aspects of biotechnology upped the ante with the promise of dramatically improved agricultural products. Today, few topics have the power to inspire as much international furor and misinformation as the development and distribution of genetically altered foods. Is public resistance far out of synch with the potential risks? Please join us as Henry Miller, co-author of the new book The Frankenfood Myth, and Bruce Ames, U.C. Berkeley professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, address this critical 21st century issue.

For millennia, farmers all over the world have bred crops for their resistance to disease, productivity, and nutritional value. Today, few topics have the power to inspire as much international furor and misinformation as the development and distribution of genetically altered foods.